Here For The Party
by TheSnarkySmile
Summary: AU. Harry Potter is a mystery to Britain and has spent the last ten years outside of the country after being taken in by a Vampire who found him in an abusive house hold. No one knows quite how he vanquished Voldemort the year before, but everyone is interested in the legendary 15-year-old Man of Mystery. Why is he back, though? Well, for the party, of course. Drug Use, Sex Ref.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter blinked as he looked around. Everything seemed awfully… old. The entire castle looked like a massive relic. He stopped himself from sighing or showing any type of displeasure, any emotion at all for that matter.

"Hogsmead weekends are for students third year and above, so you will be able to enjoy time away from the school no and again," the old, Merlinian type Headmaster told him with a conspiratorial wink. Harry smiled at him, pretending to not know that he could come and go as he pleased, as per the written rules for heirs of ancient and noble houses. He was back in England because of his Ancient ties, after all.

A giant of a man, Rubeus Hagrid, greeted them on their stroll to the castle. He was the Care of Creatures Professor and Harry accepted his invitation to come have tea and talk about Harry's parents.

"Headmaster?" The man looked toward Harry, nodding. "It was my understanding that your school was exclusively for witches and wizards, or is that only applicable to the student population?"

He received a long look and realized what the Headmaster might be thinking and waved it off. "I am just curious, sir. I assure you, I have befriended many werewolves, vampires, and brethren of elves and goblins. It has come to my attention, however, that there are only witches and wizards enrolled in your school, yet there are other magical folk employed by the school."

Dumbledore's eyes began twinkling a bit as he smiled sadly. "Yes, it is my intention to expose students to people from varying magical races, though I'll admit, there has been little success in that arena. I'll admit, I have heard rumors of your whereabouts from others, and the company you've kept. I'm sure that will come to the attention of the rest of your year mates as well."

Harry nodded, knowing that there was no shortage of stories about him in the public. He had had quite the upbringing, after all. First, becoming the Defier of Death or Boy-Who-Lived (though he preferred the American title bestowed on him). Then, when he was four and the fiasco of his "kidnapping" took place, whereupon a noble vampire saw his treatment at the hands of his muggle relatives and "freed" him of their abuse. The vampire in question didn't realize that Harry was THE Harry Potter, so brought him back to Transylvania, starting a diplomatic tornado ending in Harry becoming an honorary part of their coven, accepting a place in a werewolf faction in Eastern Europe, becoming the "Godson" of a Pegan witches sorority, and an apprentice to a small group of Goblin and Wizard cursebreakers.

Apparently, those who were sensitive to magic and had something of a more acute awareness to it (werewolves, vampires, etc.) enjoyed being around Harry. Others believed magic attracted magic, so having someone so magically powerful at their side would bring good fortune to their group. And Harry's peculiar shade of magic wasn't black or white, he was a grey mage with unaffiliated leanings.

It was funny, really it was, that the Scottish Hogwarts had become his school of choice because of how unaware they were of his actual talents, accomplishments, and associations. He wasn't necessarily a spy, though he was going to be gathering information and dispensing it to the rest of the world he was connected with. After his complete defeat of Voldemort the year prior, he was welcomed back with open arms and hero-worshiped.

Scotland was known for its vast accomplishments in Sorcery, that much was true. The rest of the world regarded them of "knowers", as they closely guarded anything and everything involving the greatest feats of magical casting that had come to be. They were an extremely backward society, though, and Harry was unsure of whether he was going to encourage a change of attitude regarding "Dark Creatures" as the races were labeled here, or encourage them to leave the Isle and join other factions elsewhere.

That was his main mission, though he had to admit, he was a little excited about learning of his family and the world he had been born in and being around teenagers.

"Here we are, Harry," Dumbledore said, leading him into a room with a few teachers and many portraits and knickknacks.

He was introduced to the Professors and accepted their congratulations on his triumph over Tom Riddle Jr. The Ravenclaw head of house turned to him before they could proceed to his House Sorting.

"Mr. Potter, if I could ask you just one question before we begin?" Harry nodded at the half goblin and the man smiled widely at him. "What with all of your training and accomplishments, I'm sure there is no need for you to obtain a Hogwarts Education. If I may be so bold, what is it you'd like to do while you're here?"

Harry looked around the room briefly. Everyone must have been thinking the same thing as each of the professors was now paying complete attention to him and his answer. He allowed a smirk to grace his lips. "I'd like to have some fun, sir."

Nearly everyone in the room reacted, the Gryffindor head of house sighing and muttering something under her breath, the Slytherin head of house looking slightly enraged and grumbling about his father, the Hufflepuff head of house looked accepting and happy for him, while the Headmaster and Ravenclaw head of house both laughed.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. I believe your sorting is in order?"

Harry nodded and sat on the chair he was directed to. The Sorting Hat was introduced and explained to him before being placed on his head and slinking down to cover his eyes.

 _And what do we have here? Oh yes, very interesting indeed._

 _I guess I haven't exactly had your typical upbringing, have I?_

 _Ha! No, not at all, Mr. Potter, not at all… Your ambition, courage, intelligence and gumption are all here in spades, yes… but where to put someone so well rounded…_

 _It makes little difference to me._

 _Oh, I am aware, Mr. Potter, but, hm… I see you have a little bit of a mischievous streak in you, yes, very good. Things have been much too boring in the castle where fun is concerned… A natural diplomat… With tact and honesty... You would do very well in Slytherin or Hufflepuff, though your wishes to make friends and have fun would do well in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, and your conversation skills would make you imensley popular amongst the Ravenclaws… yes… Better be-_

"Hufflepuff!" the hat announced to the room. Harry smiled and looked around at all of the shocked expressions until his new head of house began clapping for him gleefully. He laughed as she began dancing around the others, singing "I got Harry Potter!" until she made a full round around the other heads of houses and approached him. He was surprised to be hugged by the woman, but didn't mind, hugging her back. She held him at arms length, looking up at him. "Oh, we _will_ have so much fun, Mr. Potter! Whatever you need, if there's ever a problem or question you have, you come to me, my greenhouses are always open."

Harry agreed, smiling at the woman. "Very well, congratulations Mr. Potter in your house sorting. I believe we have just enough time to get you to the train station by floo, as is the tradition for Hogwarts Students."

He walked over to the fireplace and followed the instructions, swirling around with the flames and nearly being spat out at the other end, though he gracefully walked forward with the push of magic behind him.

There were families all about, saying goodbye. Finally, someone spotted him, a small child who's eyes got big and excited. Harry grinned, winking at the boy before putting a finger to his lips in a _quiet_ gesture, pulling a baseball hat out of his bag and pulling it low on his face.

He didn't have any trouble getting onto the train, though being around so many witches and wizards with so much power was going to take a little getting used to for him. He finally found a compartment with two witches and a wizard who looked to be his age, both of whom had black and yellow memorabilia while the wizard had blue and gold accents on his trunk.

"Is there room for one more?" he asked, smiling warmly at the trio. All three stopped and starred at him and he smirked, noticing the slightly dumb expressions they were giving. He had taken off his hat briefly, knowing no one else would be coming down the corridor for another minute or two, and as such his scar, the lightning bolt shaped on that had been recently extended further down his face, through his eye and ending at the top of his cheek, was proudly on display. He knew it took a moment to get used to the slightly different eye on his right, a bright, glittering sliver streak interrupting the otherwise bright green, but he also knew that he was rather handsome save the scar.

His grin became a little wicked as he looked to the bloke. "I understand the girls taking a moment, but you too, mate? Bat for the other team?" Harry winked at him then gave him a mock-serious expression. "You know, I've never fooled around with another bloke before. It could be interesting I suppose," he offered, looking at the boy.

He looked tortured, spluttering and not knowing what words to use. Harry finally laughed, entering the room and gently patting his shoulder. "I'm joking, just kidding," he laughed out. "Oh, but your face!"

That seemed to break the tension and the rest of them laughed, though the boy sitting next to Harry was much more awkward about it than the rest of them. "Right, well, I'll just go find Cho and Marietta. See you both later." He stood and nearly ran out of the compartment.

Harry laughed at his retreating form. "Right. Well, I'm Harry. I'm joining the fifth year Hufflepuffs."

Both of the girls looked surprised. "Oh!" The redhead on the left smiled excitedly. "We're fifth year 'Puffs!" She held out her hand to him, blushing now. "I'm Susan Bones, and this is Hannah Abbott."

"Nice to meet both of you," Harry purred, taking each offered hand and kissing the back of them. Both of the girls blushed brightly and even giggled a bit as he straightened back into his seat, pulling the hat back on his head. "So do you like Hogwarts? I've heard there's lots of magic to learn." He excitedly rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait to start working on some more interesting charms."

Hannah timidly spoke up. "Y-Yeah, Hogwarts is pretty great." She seemed to gain more confidence, flicking some of her blonde hair over her shoulder. "There's a bunch of gits in our year. That bloke that left was Anthony Goldstein."

Susan rolled her eyes. "He's a Ravenclaw and thinks he's God's gift to women."

Harry winked at her. "Can't have that now, can we?" She blushed and he chuckled. "I'm kidding. For someone who's supposed to be suave, he certainly didn't know how to handle direct attention, did he?"

The girls laughed again. "No, he didn't. Then again, I doubt he's ever been propositioned quite like that."

"So why are you coming to Hogwarts?" Susan blurted. She had the decency to blush and berate herself for the blunt question. "Not that you're not welcome, you're very welcome. I'm just- I mean, you didn't go here your first year and we haven't had anyone just come to school and-"

"Susan," Harry interrupted, holding up a hand. He smiled at her as she stopped talking. "It's alright, I didn't take any offense. I'd imagine everyone wants to know why I'm suddenly enrolled. In fact, Professor Flitwick asked me as much before my sorting this morning." He shrugged his shoulder, a smirk playing on his face again. "I guess I just decided it's time to have some fun, get to know some witches my own age, learn some magic in a magical school," he grinned at them, opening his bag. "In fact, if you ladies don't mind, I think I'll get started on that fun part right now."

Harry pulled out a joint he had rolled the morning before. He had taken to smoking weed when he didn't have anything pressing going on. He noticed the curious looks he was getting from the witches. "It's a joint. Have you guys smoked weed before? It's pretty common in Eastern Europe…"

They shook their heads, Hannah looking like she was deep in thought. "Marijuana, right? A muggle drug like alcohol?"

"Right in one, darling." She blushed at the familiarity and Harry nodded at the door. "Mind if I charm it closed? I think we're about to take off and I'd rather not get caught smoking on a train, yeah?"

They looked at one another and shrugged, Susan nodding at him to go ahead. "What does it feel like?" She asked as the train started rolling away and he lit the joint.

Harry inhaled deeply, considering his question. "It just relaxes you. Like if you have pain, it eases it, if you're stressed out, you get less tense. It also has a tendency of making things really, really amusing or interesting."

Hannah looked at the joint, considering it. Harry offered it to her. "You can try it if you'd like. It'll wear off by the time we get to the opening feast, and I have eye drops if you're worried about the red eyes."

The blonde bit her lip and looked at her friend. Susan looked back at her, both nervous and excited. Both of them turned back to Harry. "Alright, then," she agreed, taking it from him.

"Just be careful it-" Hannah took a large hit and started coughing. Harry winced. "It takes a little getting used to if you haven't done it a lot."

Susan looked a bit mellowed, seeing the reaction of her best friend. Harry encouraged her. "It's alright, really. The coughing will go away in a minute. Just breathe in a little bit and let it out."

She nodded, hesitating as she brought it to her lips. Harry noticed how dark pink and plump her lips were and stared at them for a moment. The girl blushed, noticing the attention, but only coughed a little bit as she exhaled the drug.

Harry took it back and hit it twice before passing it back to Hannah. The girl was much more careful this time and Harry grinned when she successfully exhaled without wheezing. They passed it around until it was finished, Harry smoking quite a bit more than the girls, but then again, he was used to it.

Once it kicked, Harry rose to the window and opened it, flicking the remainder out and letting the smoke out as well. Hannah began giggling, Susan catching it as well. Harry turned toward them and grinned. "What?" he asked.

Hannah shrugged and laughed. "It's just, you're THE Harry Potter!" she laughed, Susan still laughing but slapping her friend as she did. "What?" she defended, her laughs subsiding slightly at the physical reprimand. "He is! And," she looked back at him, her head tilting as she did, considering him. "He's done so much, but he just wants to come to our school and be a teenager. It's weird." Then she started laughing again.

Harry smiled at her, nodding. "Yeah, it is weird. There's so much weird stuff in the world though, this is hardly the worst thing for a person to do."

Susan's laughter went away as well. "My aunt is the head of the DMLE here," she told him. "She has told me more things about you and speculation on what you have done and where you've been than the papers or books point out." She shrugged. "I doubt most of the things are true, but it sounds like you've had an interesting upbringing at least."

Harry smiled. "Yup. I've been on every singled continent on the world."

They both looked surprised by that. "Even Antarctica?"

Harry nodded. Hannah sunk back into her seat, her eyes drifting into a far away place. "Wow," she whispered.

"What was it like?" Susan asked.

"It was really, really cold," Harry told her. He grinned again, "But it was awesome. There were Southern Lights in the sky, like the Aurora Borealis, and the magic there was… intense. Amazing, wild, and intense."

"What were you doing there?" Susan asked.

"I was working with a team of cursebreakers to identify and study a Polar Sea Snake that a muggle had captured video footage of. We were based on the continent, but the work we did was in the Ocean, pretty deep down actually." He thought of the memory fondly. "The snake was huge, roughly fifty feet long and mostly aquadic. You know how regular snakes are cold blooded and do better in warm environments, like laying in the sun and stuff?" They nodded. "Well this one was magical and got energy from the cold. It was brill."

"What did you do with it?"

"Well, she was rather fond of our company so she complied with our wishes. We documented her, took the shells from her babes and some snake skin she had shed, and she gave us some venom also. Her kind wouldn't do well here, they do better on the southern pole apparently, but we're going to visit her again over Christmas. Her venom is being studied in burn remedies now and is proving to be very helpful."

"Is that what you want to do?" Hannah asked him. He quirked a brow and she clarified. "Study magical creatures?"

Harry shrugged. "I really like exploring and finding new things. Almost everything I've come across in my travels are only dangerous if harmed. Magical creatures, plants and herbs, they're all fascinating. But I think I just like discovering and studying magic, inventing things maybe. I'm not sure. Maybe I'll just write books."

Susan grinned at him. "Well, I'm sure you'd have no shortage of a following on your publications." She giggled again. "Imagine if Harry rewrote the Harry Potter series here?"

Hannah laughed. "Those books are complete rubbish, they're like Lockhart's books, exaggerated and fine for night time tales, but completely utter nonsense."

Harry laughed too. "Yes, they are. And they're wholly inaccurate. I mean defeating trolls? At seven?" he laughed again, "I was already living with vampires and werewolves for years by then!"

The three of the laughed, the girls thinking he was joking and Harry at the absurdity of the books. He had recently begun the long and drawn out process of suing the author and publisher of the books, who were going to immediately stop publishing the books and owed Harry several hundred thousand galleons. Since they didn't have any of that money on hand, he was probably going to end up owning the publishing company which included owning the Daily Prophet, so all in all, Harry was quite happy with the fortune he was finding in England.

The train ride was passing easily, Harry learning about the girls and the castle and some of the other Hogwarts students he was going to be in class with. They were interrupted by a blond boy Harry easily recognized.

"Draco!" Harry greeted, jumping up and pulling the smaller boy into a hug, shutting the door behind him so as to not admit the two buffoons behind him. "How is my dear cousin doing? Excited I'm coming to school with you?"

Harry messed up his hair and Draco scowled. "Knock it off, Potter," he groused, trying to pull his hair back into place. "Mother wanted me to make sure to say hello to you on the train. Hello. Goodbye."

He tried in vain to leave the compartment, but Harry easily pulled him down to sit next to him and across from the girls. "Come now, Drake! I want to introduce you to my friends, Ms. Susan Bones and Ms. Hannah Abbott. They're in my house!"

Draco's grimace stopped and his blush disappeared as he looked at Harry with surprise. "You- you were sorted into Hufflepuff?"

Harry grinned. "The hat didn't know where to put me. I told him 'Puff."

Draco blinked, then seemed to smile with relief, ignoring everyone around him. "You're not in Slytherin. Merlin's tits."

Susan and Hannah were surprised at seeing the Malfoy heir so relieved. "Right-o, Little D. Don't worry though, I'm sure I can figure out a way to sneak into your common room and hang out with you." Harry seemed oblivious to the pain that statement caused in his cousin. "It wouldn't be the first time I've snuck around Hogwarts! Can't be harder than finding that daft Room of Requirement."

"Potter, the Slytherin rooms are for Slytherin's only-"

Harry waved off his cousin's stern warning. "Blah blah blah, rules, blah blah blah." He winked at the girls but continued in his nonchelaunt manner. "Anyway, I wanted to apologize on throwing Uncle Unlucky into Azkaban, tell your mother I send my highest regards," he turned conspiratorially to the girls, "Every boy has a hot Aunt they're rather fond of, trust me," the girls made grossed out faces but laughed as Draco's ire grew exponentially, "And please, for the love of Merlin, stop talking about your father so much or people will start to wonder if there's anyone else who could ever possibly measure up to him in your eyes." Harry put his mouth closer to his cousin's ear, but the girls could hear every word. "Though if you are into, you know, riding the broom and not shooting the quaffle, I think that cute bloke Anthony Goldstein might be interested."

Harry pulled his cousin up, his enraged, confused, and spluttering face matching the colors of the Gryffindor common room while Harry opened the door and pushed him none too gently out. "See you later, Little D!" he promised, winking and shutting the compartment door soundly behind him.

Both girls began laughing hysterically, holding on to one another as they struggled to breathe. "Looks like we're almost at the castle, ladies," Harry told them, looking out the window at the darkening sky. He turned toward his bag, opening it and pulling out his new uniform. Without thinking, he pulled off his shirt, stretching his back in the process. He caught the girls' gobsmacked looked and smirked. "You guys okay?" he asked them, immediately producing bright blushes as they tried to look anywhere but him, instead ending up looking everywhere and continuously at him. He laughed and turned to them fully, looking down at his body. "I know, it's a little much, but the physical requirements of being able to run away from shit and not die _does_ mean having a bit more muscle than your average bear." He looked up at them, smiling widely. "Watch this," he told them, making the stance of muggle muscle body builders and flexing his arms. Hannah audibly moaned while Susan moved uncomfortably in her seat, starring openly now at his show. Harry laughed at both of them, relaxing again as he turned away.

"Hey!" Hannah protested, seeming affronted. "We didn't say you could turn back around," she teased despite the brilliant blush on her cheeks.

Harry continued laughing, pulling on the sleaves of his button down shirt and making easy work of it, then the tie. "Rule are rules, ladies, and Hogwarts mandates that I walk around clothed, I'm sorry."

Susan was busy collecting herself while Harry finished dressing. "Shall I give you both a moment?" he asked, pulling the baseball cap back on his head and gesturing to the doors. They nodded, Susan not looking at him still but hurriedly shutting the door and the drapes behind him. Harry heard muffled shouts of 'Oh, Merlin' and 'I couldn't even count all the muscles' and 'That v, though, uuuuugh', making him laugh to himself as he waited. He looked down the compartment and saw a handful of other students waiting outside their compartments. Soon, the door opened behind them and two much more collected witches began telling Harry about the Welcoming Feast and how much food there would be. In almost no time, the train was pulling to a stop.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry tried to pay attention, really he did. The ceiling of the Great Hall was honestly one of the most impressive feats of magic he had ever seen, par none. His eyes refused to stay on the Sorting Ceremony, traveling back to the ceiling time and time again. When Susan and Hannah clapped, he did as well. Even through the Headmaster's speech, he remained only aware of what was above. He was going to learn how to do that if it was the only thing he did at that school.

"So," he began nonchalantly as the food magically appeared on the tables. "I knew Hogwarts employees people from different magical backgrounds… but what's with the toad?"

Susan spit out her drink and Hannah guffawed loudly before covering her mouth and rubbing her friend's back. Harry smiled, pleased at their reactions, and moved several delicious looking items to his dish. Harry bit his tongue and pulled his lips back, looking at the items in the dish and flicking his wand at them. The broccoli was rearranged to look like a small forest, potatoes moving up from the plate down back to the dish as if it were snow. Meat was arranged like a lake with it's gravy. Carrots became like fish, shrinking in size and wading slowly through the brown liquid. Satisfied with himself, Harry grabbed a fork and a knife, cutting out a piece of his lake, taking a tree, some snow, and a carrot with him.

People around him had gone fairly quite. He chewed slowly and wiped his mouth. "I'm sorry," he said to them. "I know it's rude to play with food, but I just can't help myself."

With that, a carrot jumped out of the gravy and continued swimming around while the potato snow continued. "It's hard to believe you're a big hero when you play with your food, Harry," Hannah told him, looking amused.

"I know." He grinned, opening his mouth as a fish jumped from his plate into it, winking at the astonished girl as it happened. "That's why I do it."

Susan seemed to be calculating him in her head, but appreciated the comment for it's honesty, smiling at him. "What are the chances that there's a party in our common room tonight?" he asked them, looking around the table. That seemed to catch the attention of the other Hufflepuffs.

"Party?" a handsome boy asked, becoming excided.

Harry nodded. "Harry Potter needs a welcoming party after all, wouldn't you say? And I have coincidentally brought several boxes of butterbeer and firewhiskey… I hear that's what you drink here in England."

The table started whispering excitedly. Harry's eyes squinted at the younger students. "You have to be at least a third year, son. No exceptions." The suddenly serious tone he used reminded everyone just who he was, but he discretely winked at excited boy he had reprimanded before turning back to the rest of the table. "Are there any relationships I should respect, Susie?"

Susan blushed and Hannah scoffed. "As if there's anyone good enough to date," the blonde said, looking to the red-head for affirmation.

Harry watched Susan ignore her friend, staring at her. When she seemed stuck in his gaze, he turned his full attention completely to her, unable to help the legilimancy that occurred, causing him to grin roguishly at her train of thought. "Not that I would want to grace any other lady with my attentions before you, of course," he told her.

The poor girl looked like her head was going to pop, her friend not helping her cause at all, instead choosing to laugh at her. Harry was amazed at how easy it was to rile the girl up, his only experience with women had been with older, confident women, but these girls acted like no one had ever properly flirted with them before.

"So, really, what's up with the Toad Teacher?" Hannah and Susan laughed at his assessment of their newest Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher. "She looks like the type who likes tying up her food before cutting it open."

"She's from the Ministry. Since the minister's polls are down, he's doing everything he can to prove that he has some form of control over the country, which he doesn't. Everyone hates him, he's a stupid, bumbling buffoon who doesn't deserve to be employed by the ministry, let alone lead it."

Harry blinked at Susan and turned to Hannah. "He's been a complete jack ass to her aunt," she told them.

Harry made an aha face before animating two chicken legs to hop over to his plate from down the table, playing drums on the empty plate of a first year on its way. The child, who apparently came from a magic-less family, giggled for a while after the unique display.

"Are we going to have to get used to that, Harry?" Hannah asked him, gesturing to the dancing and flapping pieces of chicken traveling to his plate.

Harry grinned, opening his mouth and closing his teeth on a wing, letting his magic feed him. "Yes 'm," he told her. After chewing and swallowing he wiped his mouth again. "You get used to entertaining people while you eat when you're the only one at a table eating food."

Both of the girls looked confused and Harry tilted his head to the side. "Vampires, remember?" he told them. The blood seemed to run from their faces. Now Harry was confused.

"Y-you weren't just joking?" Hannah asked, her voice barely audible.

Harry frowned. "Why would I joke about my upbringing?"

Before they could answer, their attention was called from the front of the room, the Headmaster gently going over rules that Harry steadfastly ignored, deciding instead to look around the room. His gaze stopped on the Slytherin table where a girl with beautiful long dark red hair, nearly purple in color, was also looking around the room. Their eyes met and Harry couldn't look away.

She was nothing short of a Goddess in a teenager's body.

She held his gaze, giving him nearly a full minute to memorize the refined features of her face, her summer skin kissed by the sun no doubt. Her eyes were dark blue and seemed restless. Her magic swirled around her, tamed, as if caged and confined, its color matching her eyes. Harry almost stood and walked over to her then and there.

Everyone began rising from their tables and Harry lost sight of his enchantress. "So," the boy from early said, addressing Harry. "You mentioned a party?"

Harry grinned at him and slapped his shoulder. "Ernie, right?" The boy nodded, smiling up at the taller Harry. "I think we're going to be fast friends, mate."

As it turned out, Hufflepuff was not a house shy to partying. Harry was excited to find that not only could they hold their liquor, but that had quite a few interesting games as well. The whole house seemed to express their surprise to find him amongst their own and Harry eventually made it a rule that anyone who asked him a personal question or commented on his being in Hufflepuff or at Hogwarts had to drink.

The party wore on into the night and he was able to convince quite a few 'puff to puff and pass. The younger years had headed down to bed when he began passing around the blunts he rolled, impressing the handful of muggleborns who were learned in the way of partying.

"Oh man," Ernie complained. "I wish you had been here for the Goblet of Fire, that shit would have lit the best blunt."

"It certainly sounded entertaining," he answered, sinking into the comfy chair he had claimed in the common room. "But to have school children compete in a competition that could end in their death seems a bit much. I mean, magical children are so few an far between, I'm surprised that Durmstrang and Bauxbatons went along with it as well."

"Yeah, England tends to not care that much about children. At least in comparison." Ernie was nearly passed out on the couch with Hannah and Susan cuddling into his arms.

Harry shook his head. "That's such a shame. I wish adults were… better."

"We can be better," Susan told him. She sat up then, eyes bright. "We can be the best people. We can be better than the generations before us, don't you realize."

She stood, getting the attention of the older people in the room. "We're going to inherit this world some day, and we can be better when we do! We don't have to let people like Fudge or you-know-who fuck up everyone's childhood!"

"Hear, hear!" the rest of the house chanted, toasting her before drinking. Harry smiled at the girl. The party seemed to be dying down, some older students waking up the ones that passed out and making them go to bed. Harry stood up and took out his wand, flicking it around their area and getting it cleaned up. The rest of his house mates followed suit, thanking him for the party and congratulating him on becoming a 'puff.

It wasn't long before he was stripping himself for bed, smiling in contentment. Maybe Hogwarts wasn't going to be so bad after all. The last thing on his mind before his brain shut off was dark blue of that Slytherin's eyes.

.

Harry woke up after his standard two hour rest. Actually, he took an extra fifteen minutes to fight off the hang over he might have otherwise had. That being said, he was surprised to find that no one in his house was up even after he completed his morning training rituals.

All of his exercises took up roughly two hours. Feeling the need to spend a little energy before being made to sit in classes all day, he ran 10k instead of his standard 5.

Imagine his surprise when the sun had started rising yet not a single one of his dorm mates had yet to awaken.

Figuring he was better off doing something than nothing, Harry sat on his bed and began meditating. He followed himself into himself and concentrated deeply, allowing the world outside of him to disappear as he collected his thoughts and began the process of sorting through them.

This wasn't an uncommon practice for him, so it didn't take long at all to finish storing his own memories inside himself. He had something of a lair in his mind, perfectly kept and always a good time, Harry didn't mind meditating when the goings got boring. Then he began the task of trying to figure out who his golden goddess was.

He had narrowed down the possibilities, but just wanted to know for sure. There were four Slytherin girls in his year that he knew of, and she definitely wasn't Pansy Parkinson or Milicent Bulstrode, both of whom he had met briefly during holiday parties at Malfoy manor.

Harry smiled to himself. He loved crashing parties, especially when it meant finding a crack in someone's wards.

Finally, six o'clock rolled around and Harry rose from his bed, making his way toward the great hall. There were four other students at the Great Hall and two professors. Seating himself at the Hufflepuff table, he smiled at the bushy-haired Gryffindor who seemed a bit startled by the action.

He collected himself a great deal of eggs, spelling them into little egg-balls that rolled over onto his plate. To his delight, he found hashbrowns on the table and eager spelled them into a house. Using different fruits available, he began decorating the building, an egg ball magically flying into his mouth when he was done chewing. Coffee poured into a small mug and drifted to his open hand after a few twitches of his wand and he swiftly drank the liquid, closing his eyes dramatically as Ernie sat himself next to Harry.

"Potter- what on Earth?" He questioned, motioning to the house built of food.

Harry grinned, throwing an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders. "Ah, Earnest, dear... Don't you know that food tastes better when it looks better?" He asked, wand moving again to place an illusion of a storm above the food, lightning striking a corner of the house and a gentle cutting curse applied ensured that the portion of the building fell from the house. Harry's broad smile was fixed in place as he happily scooped up the portion of the house, eating the corner of the building in two easy bites. Harry saw his friend place two pieces of bacon on his plate and smirked, flicking his wand at them and the half of a grapefruit down the table.

A makeshift helicopter was suddenly flying toward the storm, gathering attention from more sleepy eyed teens ambling to their tables. Susan stopped mid-motion as she began sitting at the table, hovering over her seat watching the show. Harry began adding sound affects for good measure, holding his hand up to his mouth as if it were a walkie-talkie.

"Ahh, sir, watch out ahead! The storm!"

He made a crinkling noise into his hand and changed his voice. "Roger that, we're on a one way route to death, son. I love you."

He crinkled again and went back to the first voice, the helicopter swerving left and right above his plate. "Pa! I love you! I'm scared, Pa!"

"Listen here, Jimmy," Harry made his voice thick with emotion. "There is nothing to fear but fear itself. This will just be... the next great adventure." With that, Harry made small screaming noises as the helicopter lopped sideways and crashed onto half of the house. A handful of first years cheered and Harry bowed, sticking a piece of bacon in his mouth.

He made quick work of the rest of his meal while Susan and Hannah tried to wake themselves up. "So, why do you guys sleep so much?" Harry finally asked. The question had been on his mind all morning.

Everyone blinked. "What do you mean?" Hannah asked slowly.

Harry shrugged. "We're magical. Witches and Wizards who attend Hogwarts are at least powerful enough in theory to cast a spell like the Patronus by the time they reach adulthood. Based on how strong you are magically, your body and magic regenerate at a much quicker rate. All of the witches and wizards I know abroad sleep far less than you all have, usually four or five hours."

Earnie gave him a strange look. "How much do you sleep, Harry?"

Harry frowned. "Two hours, today I slept in for an extra fifteen minutes since we drank."

"T-Two hours?! How do you function?!" Susan exclaimed, mouth open with shock.

Harry put on a serious face and turned to her. "I'm magical. I'm powerful enough to at least cast the Patronus and because I'm so powerful-"

"Oh, shut it, Potter," Hannah interrupted, making the muscular boy grin. "We don't know anyone who sleeps as little as you do."

Harry blinked, considering them. "How often do you rest your mind?"

"Rest our... what?" Susan asked.

Harry looked around at them all again, confused himself. "You don't meditate? Not even meditative yoga? Focusing practices? Becoming in touch with your magic, all of that?"

They looked at him like he was speaking a different language. He thought about that for a moment. "Am I accidentally speaking a different language?'

Earnie laughed and the girls rolled their eyes. "No, you're just telling us things we've never heard."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense, but it's surprising that you've never heard this before. Most of the magical cultures I've visited have rituals regarding sleeping and awakening. I've come up with my own mash up between a couple of different places I've visited. It's weird is all."

" _Right_ ," Susan said, obviously much more sassy when she was still waking up. "We're the weird ones for actually sleeping, and you're 'normal' for napping for a few hours every night. Okay, there, Potter."

Harry's laughter faltered as the Slytherin girl walked into the Great Hall. Their eyes met again, but this time she seemed prepared for the attention. Harry felt himself straighten, knowing that she was taking in his appearance and judging him. He was happy he thought of her this morning when he cleaned his face and styled his hair. He certainly looked his best for a normal school day, and he wasn't about to look like a slob if she was going to be around. He could tell from the graceful calculated way she walked that she was aware of everything around her and everything she did.

He wanted desperately to impress her.

Harry turned to Earnie. "Who is that Slytherin girl that just walked in?"

Earnie frowned, looking toward the table and finding the girl in question. He scoffed. "Oh, that's Greengrass."

Susan and Hannah snorted. Hannah looked pityingly at him, reaching over to pat his cheek patronizingly. "Poor Harry," she said, rubbing his face. "She's not going to give you the time of day."

Harry pouted at them, making them laugh. Earnie looked away from her and back at Harry. "I don't know, Hannah. If anyone's her type, it might as well be Harry. I mean, you can't honestly say that anyone else except for Dumbledore measures up to his reputation. He's got just as much money and influence as Malfoy. The Minister is probably torn between wanting to get him off and wetting his pants every time he's near the poor lad." They all scorned that last one and Earnie put his hands in the air. "I'm just saying, he's the most influential, powerful, accomplished wizard of our age in the world. Perhaps he's the only one Greengrass would spare the time of day for."

Harry shook his head. "I don't know mate, she doesn't seem impressed."

Earnie looked him in the eye. "The fact that she's looked in your direction shows you're more interesting than anyone else in the room. The only time she's ever looked at me was when I bumped into her in third year and she asked if I would be paying for the new robes she would need since those were 'tarnished' by my touch."

Harry laughed, looking back at the girl in question. She was buttering her toast, taking a small sip from her tea before biting a small piece. Her eyes flickered up to his for a brief moment before seeming to tear away and refocus on her task at hand. Harry sighed. He needed to talk to her.

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A/N: If anyone is any good at editing or writing and you'd be interested in co-writing/editing this story, I'm just interested in hearing from you.


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